Bills would expand child visitation provisions

The Judiciary Committee heard testimony Feb. 9 on two bills that would expand grandparent-child visitation provisions.

Currently, a grandparent may petition for visitation rights only if the:
• child’s parents are deceased;
• marriage of the child’s parents has been dissolved or a petition for dissolution has been filed; or
• parents have never been married, but paternity has been established.

LB1086, introduced by Omaha Sen. Scott Lautenbaugh, would allow court ordered visitation rights for a grandparent if he or she has made prior reasonable efforts to have visitation with the minor child, but the child’s parents have refused such visitation. The court would be allowed to consider the potential relationship between the grandparents and grandchildren.

Lautenbaugh said grandparent visitation rights are important and should be given consideration by the courts.

Harold Wheeler, member of the AARP, testified in support of the bill, saying grandparents are valuable because they can teach their grandchildren about a family’s history, cultural events and values.

“In some circumstances parents become estranged from their children and do not have an opportunity to play that role in their grandchild’s life,” Wheeler said.

Amy Martinez, member of the Nebraska State Bar Association, testified in opposition to the bill, saying it was too broad. The bill would not require that there be an existing relationship with the grandparents, Martinez said, but only that there be a potential relationship.

Under LB935, introduced by Papillion Sen. Jim Smith, a person with a legitimate interest could petition the court for visitation. A person with a legitimate interest would include a grandparent, great-grandparent, stepparent or former stepparent, family member or legal guardian.

The bill also would permit a person with a legitimate interest to petition for visitation if a child has been placed outside the home but has not been legally adopted.

Temporary caretakers can be a positive influence in a child’s life, Smith said, but when those children are placed in foster care the caretakers lose their visitation rights.

“These children are already experiencing disruption and it would be nice for them to have some consistency in their lives,” Smith said.

Martinez also testified in opposition to LB935, saying it would violate parents’ Fourth Amendment rights to raise their children.

“It is a long-standing tradition in Nebraska that when we look at parents who are raising the children, they should be afforded the opportunity to decide who visits them and whether it is in the child’s best interest,” Martinez said.

No supporting testimony was given on LB935 and the committee took no immediate action on either bill.